Review of margining practices

Consultative report by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

This BCBS-CPMI-IOSCO consultative report looks at margin calls in March and April 2020, margin practice transparency, predictability and volatility across various jurisdictions and markets, as well as market participants' liquidity management preparedness. It is part of the Financial Stability Board's work programme to enhance the resilience of the non-bank financial intermediation sector.

The report finds that variation margin calls in both centrally and non-centrally cleared markets in March were large, and significantly higher than in February 2020. Initial margin requirements for centrally cleared markets increased significantly, and varied substantially across, and within, asset classes. Initial margin requirements on non-centrally cleared derivatives remained relatively stable during the stress period. On the back of that data-driven analysis, the consultative report identifies six potential areas for further policy work.

The BCBS, CPMI and IOSCO invite feedback on this consultative report.

Responses should be sent via email to the BCBS Secretariat (baselcommittee@bis.org), the CPMI Secretariat (cpmi@bis.org) and the IOSCO Secretariat (consultation-04-2021@iosco.org) by 12 January 2022.

Update on 20 December: deadline has been extended to 26 January 2022.